In Q3, Samsung Galaxy S3 best-selling smartphone in the world
Samsung was able to take advantage of the release of a new iPhone in order to take the title of world’s best-selling smartphone for Q3 of 2012. The Samsung Galaxy S3 sold 18 million units for the quarter in comparison to the iPhone 4S, which moved 16.2 million. This equates to a 10.7 percent share of the global smartphone market for the GS3 compared to the 9.7 percent of the iPhone 4S. While I hate to burst the bubble of fellow Android enthusiasts, however, it’s worth diving deeper into the statistics.
Taking into account the 6 million iPhone 5 handsets sold in Q3 (the phone was only available for a few weeks during that time period), Apple’s two latest iPhone models account for over 22 million units sold. Customers waiting for the new iPhone held off on buying the model preceding it, which led to lower figures for each individual model.
Had no new iPhone been released, it is hard to say how the figures would have compared with the Galaxy S3. We might just have to wait for the Q4 results to get a better idea of the GS3’s long-term success (and Strategy Analysts, the source of the data, anticipates Apple will reclaim the lead). But as it stands, there is nothing wrong if Samsung should choose to gloat about their flagship phone’s success. On paper, at least, it is the best-selling smartphone in the world.